Leonardo Helicopters and LifeFlight Australia have unveiled plans for a major new aviation training academy on the Gold Coast, featuring high-fidelity simulators and integrated training systems not previously available in Australia or the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Announced at Verticon 2026, the LifeFlight–Leonardo collaboration will establish the planned LifeFlight Clive Berghofer Training Academy as a Leonardo Authorised Training Centre. Once complete, it will house the only full-suite Leonardo immersive simulation systems outside Italy.
The purpose-built facility will focus on integrated aviation, aeromedical and offshore emergency training, bringing pilots, aircrew, doctors, nurses, paramedics and offshore personnel together in shared high-fidelity environments designed to replicate real-world operational conditions.
The academy will feature advanced simulation capability, including a Leonardo Full Flight Simulator configured for the latest AW139 helicopters. It will also house the Modular Interactive Trainer for Helicopter Operators (MITHOS), an immersive rear-crew training system that will be the only one outside Europe.
LifeFlight says the training centre will support personnel preparing for complex and high-risk missions across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, with programs aligned to global industry safety and emergency response standards.
Leonardo Helicopters Managing Director Gian Piero Cutillo said the initiative expands the companies’ long-standing partnership beyond aircraft and technical services.
“We’re pleased with the progress we made with this important project, extending the collaboration with LifeFlight beyond the delivery of advanced helicopters and technical services,” he said.
“Training is an essential enabler of safe, effective missions and we’re committed to supporting the crews of our helicopters to access the highest quality of service so they can maximize the benefits this technology can bring to their duties.”
LifeFlight Chief Executive Officer Ashley van de Velde said the academy would strengthen training capability across several high-risk sectors.
“The future of emergency response, aeromedical care and offshore operations depends not just on how we best prepare our people for complex missions, but how well we equip our aircraft,” he said.
“This partnership brings together Leonardo’s world-leading simulation technology and LifeFlight’s real-world operational expertise to create training that is immersive, integrated and mission-ready.”
Construction is expected to begin this year, with the academy scheduled to open in 2028. The broader $250 million LifeFlight–Leonardo initiative also includes investment in aircraft, maintenance, engineering and digital capability in Queensland.
LifeFlight and Leonardo’s relationship dates back to 2015, when the aeromedical provider ordered its first AW139 helicopter.